ROCKFORD — City Council members and developers met Friday to evaluate a potential deal that would transform the empty shell of the city’s first skyscraper into a modern hotel and convention center.

But despite questions about how the deal would affect other major projects in the city, one thing was clear from people on both sides of the table: This is a moment of immense promise for downtown Rockford.

“It’s an exciting time. I can’t ever remember in Rockford history where we’ve had $75 million in investment sitting on the table, right within walking distance of each other,” city Administrator Jim Ryan said.

“It’s really exciting to see this come to fruition. It means jobs for this community and continues to bolster our tourism footprint.”

Wisconsin-based Gorman & Co. would spend $52.7 million to renovate the Ziock building, 416 S. Main St., if the city agrees to commit to a multimillion-dollar plan to build more parking and improve roads around the building, among other tax rebates and incentives.

The catalyst for the downtown hotel development is the Reclaiming First downtown sports complex, a $21 million collaborative government project to turn the former Ingersoll building into a multisport complex.

‘New urbanism’

Gorman has done projects in four states and 25 communities, specializing in reusing historic buildings. President Gary Gorman expects the conference center to spur growth of restaurants and other businesses downtown.

“Conference-goers don’t all just want to stay in the hotel that’s connected to the conference center,” he said. “They venture out, they want to see different things, they want to see part of downtown.”

The more there is to do downtown, the more attractive it will be for people to live there.

“It’s the whole concept of new urbanism — where you live, work and recreate within a walking distance,” Gorman said. “That’s why many downtowns have been successful at stimulating that kind of a critical mass of activity.”

Ald. Tom McNamara, whose 3rd Ward includes parts of downtown Rockford, sees the big potential for downtown with the Ziock and Ingersoll projects, along with other work like development plans for residential units in the Rockford Trust Building and other downtown lofts being developed by Urban Equity Properties.

“I think by the end of 2016 you’re going to see a vastly different and much-improved downtown,” he said.

What has to give?

McNamara is among those who have asked about capital projects the city will have to sacrifice to pay for $16.6 million in parking improvements, including the Ziock deal, and $2 million in road and pedestrian walkway projects.

City staff says the work can be done without affecting the capital plan that spans through 2018. A combination of parking fees, tax credits, motor fuel tax income and reserve cash would pay for the projects.

McNamara’s goal is to ensure that neighborhood road improvements are protected. He wants the city to delay plans to revamp the Whitman Street interchange and dedicate that money toward paying down debt for the parking improvements.

“When you take on $16.6 million in debt, something has to give,” he said. “I’d prefer to know today what we’re going to have to give up in the future.”

Downtown parking

The city will build a 500-space parking deck on the surface lot bounded by Green, Church and South Main streets. It will include a pedestrian concourse connecting the deck to the conference center. That must be completed by October 2016, according to the proposed deal.

The city must also acquire property along Cedar Street, including Warshawsky auto shop, to build a surface parking lot.

It will cost about $8 million to make the parking improvements stipulated in the Ziock agreement, but the city has greater parking needs than that. In 2012, it lost about 400 spaces when a portion of the concourse deck adjacent to the BMO Harris Bank Center was closed because of structural problems.

The city plans to use parking fees, federal tax credits and money set aside in the capital improvement plan to cover the improvements.

The proposed deal requires the city to reimburse Gorman 100 percent of the annual property taxes generated by improvements made to the property. The developer will receive that rebate through 2030 — the life of the city’s tax increment financing district in the area. How much money will be rebated depends on how the value of the building changes after construction is complete.

If the building were to be assessed at $8 million, that would mean $344,000 in property taxes repaid to the developer in the first year, said Todd Cagnoni, director of community and economic development. Over 17 years, that would mean $5.8 million — or $6.8 million if there were a 2 percent increase in property value during that time.

Those estimates are based on 17 years, but the rebate will more likely last 14 to 15 years once the building is complete, Cagnoni said.

The city will assist Gorman in obtaining state grants from the River Edge Redevelopment Program.

The city would also rebate 5 percent of the tax levied against hotel for room stays. The developer would still pay the 2 percent hotel tax that pays for the construction of the Reclaiming First projects to build artificial-turf soccer fields in Loves Park, expand the Indoor Sports Center and rehab Ingersoll into a downtown sports center.

Future of Davis Park

The city may make over Davis Park, which was home to headline musical acts during On the Waterfront’s 29-year run, to make it more compatible with the hotel. That could include making the park available for weddings, banquets and other outdoor events.

“It’s always kind of been a tweener type of park. It’s not big enough for the large concerts and almost too big for the small, quaint concerts,” Ryan said. “It’s time to really wipe the slate clean and say ‘what do we want this to be as an amenity for downtown?’ ”

The city is not obligated to make any Davis Park improvements as part of the deal, but it is required to form a committee to study uses and potential improvements.

Two-way work

South Main would be converted from a one-way to a two-way street between Cedar and State by March 2016, under the proposed deal. The city would widen pedestrian walkways and build protective rails on the Chestnut Street bridge to make the crossing safer for young athletes and other pedestrians walking from the hotel to the downtown sports complex on the other side of the Rock River.

Those improvements will cost about $2 million. Ryan said they’re included in the city’s capital improvement plan and will be paid for with motor fuel taxes revenue in the city’s reserve fund.

The city also will analyze whether other downtown traffic patterns need to change, although the agreement doesn’t bind Rockford to make the changes. That could include converting Chestnut and Jefferson streets from one-ways to two-ways.

Ald. Tim Durkee, who was unable to attend Friday’s meeting, said in an interview this week that the one-way downtown streets can be confusing for people unfamiliar with the area.

“Every time I find something downtown, I think I should get a piece of cheese,” he said, joking about the maze of one-way streets.

What’s next

The city’s Planning and Development committee will decide Monday whether to approve the development agreement. A yes vote would move it to the City Council, where it could be approved April 7.